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DISPLAYING FLIGHT INFORMATION IN FULL HD CLARITY

Munich Airport is one of the largest transport hubs in Europe; about 39 million passengers passed through it in 2013. A clear, consistent information system for passengers is essential and all digital signage solutions should provide clear and visible messages. This applies especially of course to flight information displays as they provide crucial communication essential for smooth and timely traveller transition. Passengers at Munich Airport now enjoy easy viewing of Full HD videowall displays comprising 72 NEC displays.

The Challenge

Old LCD segment displays: comparatively vulnerable and expensive

Until now, Munich Airport Centre (MAC) has used a display showing flight information with LCD segment technology. The system has been operating since the opening of the airport in 1992, however, the maintenance costs were significant and time and again individual modules failed and affected the overall display. A modernisation based on the existing LCD technology was not an option and the integration of up-to-date modules would have led to the replacement of the entire installation. In order to provide travellers with clearer flight information, Munich Airport now opts for a trend-setting Full HD videowall with displays from NEC Display Solutions. The change to a digital FIDS (flight information display system) enables the display of more flights at the same time in an eye-catching manner with no downtime.

The NEC Solution

72 MultiSync
®
displays form the new video display board

When seeking a suitable provider of displays, Flughafen München GmbH (FMG) had a clear criteria. The new displays should not only display the required flight information, but also graphics and animations in high resolution. Reliable continuous operation seven days a week and up to 24 hours a day is also part of the essential required mandatory criteria.

The 19 metre wide and 2.30 metre high videowall consists of 72 MultiSync
®
X463UN displays with a diagonal screen size of 46 inches and a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. This results in a total resolution of 34,560 x 4,320 pixels for the entire wall in a 18x4 configuration. The high-quality displays have been designed especially for reliable continuous operation and have a 5.7mm narrow frame. The viewer will see a complete presentation of the contents across the entire installation. With a maximum brightness of 700 candela/m² and a viewing angle of 178° vertical/178° horizontal, the flight information can be easily read from any angle. This is of particular importance in the very bright spaces at MAC.

“The new videowall in Munich Airport Centre does not only have an impressive appearance, but it also provides us with the flexibility for all future requirements in the area of passenger information at a central hub in the airport”,
says Michael Zaddach, manager of the service division IT at the Flughafen München GmbH.

The Result

Each monitor has an individual HD supply

Being the general contractor, the local NEC partner InoNet is responsible for the concept and installation of the flight display. The company has extensive expertise in industrial computer systems that need to offer reliable service in 24-hour continuous operation. Furthermore, the Munich based Company has already realised a good number of similar digital signage applications together with NEC. Since 2012, Munich Airport, in cooperation with InoNet and NEC, has opted for digital flight information displays. The new videowall is the highlight here. The wall is divided into two substructures each with three segments of 12 displays. Each of the six segments is controlled by two Matrox multi screen graphics cards in a Magnius
®
-II videowall controller of InoNet Computer GmbH. “The aim of the installation is to show pin-sharp contents across the entire display. Therefore, there is no scaling with daisy chaining across the 72 displays, each monitor is supplied individually with Full HD content,” says Susanne Gomez, Key Account Manager Digital Signage at InoNet.

Endurance thanks to thermal management

The NEC MultiSync
®
X463UN displays also have sophisticated functions for thermal management ensuring longevity, particularly crucial for installations with long, continuous operation. “
This way of showing flight information with our displays is extremely flexible and offers a high degree of investment security. Looking good in the beginning is easy – for the customer, however, the homogeneous, brilliant image quality with constant brightness across the entire run time is crucial. Here the features for calibration, remote access and thermal management, which characterise our displays, come into effect
”, says Joachim Fischer, Manager Corporate Sales DACH at NEC Display Solutions Europe. “
We outline these and other challenges right at the beginning of a project. We do not just deliver hardware, but a total solution and our customers value this partnership approach. In this sense, we advise them to get a competent partner on board. A qualified system integrator ensures a mature overall solution comprising all aspects from back end installation and content processing to maintenance and support.”